Nature Connect has partnered with the Welgemoed City Improvement District (WCID) to restore the Swartland Shale Renosterveld in local public green spaces.
A new Biodiversity and Sustainability Manager has been appointed to lead this effort. The role includes managing ecological restoration, encouraging school and community participation and improving access to green spaces in the suburb.
Building on existing success
Welgemoed joins Nature Connect’s urban conservation portfolio alongside the Paarden Eiland CID, a long-standing public-private partnership active since 2017. According to Nature Connect, the Welgemoed project presents an opportunity to grow local environmental awareness and support sustainable land use.
One of the Cape’s most endangered habitats
The Swartland Shale Renosterveld is a critically endangered vegetation type, with less than 5% of its original range remaining. It forms part of the Cape Floristic Region, an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot. Many of the species found here do not grow anywhere else in the world.
Local effort at Sluysken Park
Sluysken Park in Welgemoed has been identified as a key site for habitat rehabilitation. Local volunteers planted indigenous flora selected from the remaining local gene pool. The aim is to restore ecological function and showcase the benefits of reintroducing native species into urban spaces.
Creating connected green corridors
Through the new partnership, Nature Connect and the WCID will also remove invasive plant species, improve ecological corridors and connect green areas with pathways that are accessible to people, animals and pollinators.
The initiative supports broader goals of environmental education, sustainable urban planning and biodiversity conservation in Cape Town.
Also read:
Conservation and hope: SA’s remarkable biodiversity on Endangered Species Day
Picture: Nature Connect
